IDK, are these people contractors paid by the RPD / SFGov? Prolly. Looks like a pretty easy gig, just get some machine and some green vests and then you’re raking in some sweet sweet govt cash:

And actually, I don’t know how much offensive Nazi graffiti was cleaned up this go-around. I hadn’t noticed any.

Perhaps these people were just cleaning the steps this go-around and this wasn’t a five-figure budget-crusher for the Arts Commish / Rec and Park Dept? I know not.

I can see why elements of SFGov, politically-connected, white & wizened millionaires who live in million dollar houses far outside the city limits, want to just throw up their arms by throwing up a metal fence around these steps at the eastern edge of Golden Gate Park. Oh, and local real estate interests, the realtors who live and “prospect” in the 94117 – they want an ugly fence as well, around this iconic meeting place.

I can see why, it’s their cry for help. But I don’t approve of no fence.

(And, mind you, the very same people who want the Great McKinley Fence are those who 86’ed the harmless Panhandle Bandshell a few years back…)

And here’s a little history, complete with an artist’s conception of what the anti-graffiti fence would look like – keep reading down, through the webpages of time.

You know, fundamentally, this is the big landmark at the gateway to Golden Gate Park. I don’t like the fence idea but I also don’t like people coming by to see giant KKK letters on the base of this statue for days, weeks and months. And the Rec and Parks and Arts Commission people say it’s a real expensive PITA to keep the graffiti off.

So the above shows how things looked in the autumn of 2013. I allege that the people who wanted (and still want!) the fence decided to not clean things up in order to better make the case for the fence.

Anywho, the fence concept got put on the back burner late last year, obvs, so this is how the statue looks these days, more or less:

Last I heard, KKKatey is still in jail, right? So who’s messing up this giant statue now? Why don’t we just give it back if we’re just going to abandon it to the East End Boys and girls with their makers and spray paint and whatnot?

Oh, I guess we ourselves built it, but maybe we should move it to a place where won’t serve as a graffiti beacon?

Click to expand

Look at this, Teddy Roosevelt visited the west end of Golden Gate Park back in the day, just south of the NoPA, west of the EaPA, and north of the SoPA.

See?

What would Teddy say if he could see this statue in the state its in now?

I mean, he spent time traveling here when he could have been in Africa killing ever more elephants, right?